NOV 22, 2009  SERMON ARCHIVE

Grace to you and peace, from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

Nestled in the back of our Bibles, between 3rd John and Revelation, is this little letter of St. Jude. It is one of the few Epistles in the New Testament not penned by Paul or Peter. Jude, the brother of James, the half-brother of Jesus, bore a common 1st century name. Jude is short for Judas.

Jewish parents in the 1st century, it would seem, were proud to name their young sons after one Judas Maccabaeus, the hero of the Maccabaen wars. Jude certainly lived up to the honor of his name's sake. For, even as Judas Maccabaeus fought the good fight to deliver Israel from the hand of those who would oppress them, so, Jude fights the good fight of faith, calling others, calling you and me even today to contend for the faith.

Early on in the letter Jude says, "beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints. For certain men have crept in un-noticed…men who deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ."

And again, toward the end of the letter, Jude writes, "you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. And on some have compassion, making a distinction; but others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh."

A particular concern of Jude is the apostasy, the falling away from the faith that arises when false teachers emerge, when the truth of God is attacked. Jude perceived that false teachers had crept into the church, turning God's grace into unbounded license to do as one pleased. Jude reminds such men of God's dealings with unbelieving Israel, disobedient angels, and wicked Sodom and Gomorrah. The challenge to Christians in contending for the faith, Jude says, is great, but so is the God who is able to keep them from stumbling.

Today, I would like to pay particular attention to Jude's counsel as to how we are to exhort and encourage one another as we await the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. In other words, I would like to focus on how we are to contend for the faith as we await our Lord's coming.

Jude makes a distinction…on some, he says, "have compassion, but save (others) with fear, pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh." Jude's distinction is as simple, and yet, as complex as the division of Law and Gospel. Some, (Jude says), having been crushed by the weight of the Law, having longed for the grace of God in Christ Jesus, need to be exhorted and encouraged with compassion. "God is your Savior, we would say."

"No matter how bad your sin is, Christ Jesus is greater still. Indeed, this is finally the word that will still your accusing conscience…Christ Jesus became your very sin in order to give you His own righteousness. In other words, lift up your head you mighty gates, you child of God. Lift up your head for the God of all grace and compassion has had mercy on your soul. He has 'delivered you from the kingdom of darkness, having transferred you into the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom you have redemption, even the forgiveness of your sins.' "

Others, namely those who find the Gospel of Jesus' life, death and resurrection cause for loose living, a license to do as they please, we "save with fear, pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh."

Even as parents learn to treat their children somewhat differently in disciplining them, according to their temperament, so God's people are to be treated with distinction. St. Paul, in speaking to those who handle the word of God, says, "be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth."

The church fails in her mission, her mission to bring sinners safely to the day of the judgment of the Lord, when she becomes complacent, when she tolerates every manner of sin in her midst, as if such sin were of no consequence, as if no one in the church had the right or the power to discipline an erring brother or sister.

I was looking at Internet Explorer this last week and one story caught my eye. The "lifestyle" section of Explorer featured a three screen layout of the wedding of two men. Such an abominable display of wanton rebellion was paraded across the computer screen as if it were something to be praised, something to be exalted and honored.

Granted, Internet Explorer is a secular company and the message of God's word really has little, if any, bearing on what is or isn't placed on the screens it displays. One might expect though the illegality of the event to have had some bearing on what the editors chose to promote and celebrate. When else, after-all, would you find individuals breaking the law, being given such an open forum for lawlessness, giving their actions the best possible construction? These though are finally civil questions, civil concerns that the church may finally have no ability to change.

But, I noted too that the ceremony was performed by a so-called "pastor" of a Christian church. This so-called pastor was shown in one of the photographs, seated with her significant other. She had the audacity to don the yoke of Christ, the stole worn to mark a man as one who serves Christ, as one who is bound to Christ, as one who is a doulas, a slave of Christ.

And wearing that stole, she mocked the very name of Christ. Indeed, she mocked the blessed institution of marriage, an institution created and ordained by God. For anyone who bears the name Christian, this glaring miscarriage of God's Word should have leapt off the page as if to slap them in the face.

The question becomes though, where were those who "ordained" this "so-called pastor"? Where was the voice of the Church? Why was she not defrocked for holding such non-Biblical, such aberrant views of God and of His creation? Why did the Church sit on the sidelines and let it happen? Why didn't someone stand up and say enough!? Enough!

The great temptation that the Church faces today is the temptation to be what the world wants the Church to be. Today we are called upon to be tolerant of various lifestyles, of various opinions of right and wrong. In fact, the only true sin today, it would seem, is the sin of intolerance. The world around us would lead us to believe that if the Gospel of Christ is real to us, if it has had any sort of effect on our lives we will demonstrate that change by being accepting, tolerant of other people.

And yet, those caught in sin are allowed to walk the perilous road that leads finally to hell. My friends, this shouldn't be! To love someone with the love of Christ, is to "save (them) with fear, pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh."

It is a huge responsibility, isn't it? You see, when Cain, having killed his brother Abel, asked God "am I my brothers keeper" God didn't directly answer. But, the answer is evident. Yes! Yes, you are your brother's keeper. "Some (Jude says) save with fear, pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh."

You can love one another without loving one another's sin, even as Jesus has loved you without loving our sin. It all finally rests on the grace of God in Christ Jesus. After-all, "we love because He first loved us." Even the tuff love, the love of making distinctions in applying the word of God, is an art, a task carried out in you by, and for the sake of, the love of God.

In contending for the faith your eyes should always be set on Jesus, "the author and perfector of our faith." Be ever mindful of your own waywardness, of your own tendency to stray, find every moment as a fitting moment for silence, turn to God and pray for His strength. Pray for the conviction that only He can give you. Pray for the intestinal fortitude to stand up to a culture that would turn the Gospel into license.

Dr. Al Barry, the previous president of our Lutheran Church Missouri Synod, a man who steadfastly contended for the faith, even to the moment of his death, used to always put a Scripture reference beneath his name whenever he signed. It was Jude 24 and 25. I leave you with those two verses this morning. "To Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, to God our Savior, who alone is wise, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever. Amen."

The peace of God that passes all understanding keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus unto life everlasting. Amen.